DESCRIPTION (adapted from the Abstract): The Public Health Authority of Cabarrus County, Inc., formerly the Cabarrus County Health Department, seeks to connect to the Internet for the purposes of improving and accessing external communications. The Public Health Authority consists of a central facility (now in Concord, to be moved in early 1998 to Kannapolis) and a satellite operation Logan Family Resource Center in a predominantly African American community located in the city of Concord. Our services include preventive public health clinical services, primary medical care, dental care, home health care, communicable disease control services, and environmental health services. We will utilize our local area network which will become operational early in 1998 to provide authority wide access to the Internet. Planned applications include access to management and clinical information not readily available from current application system, electronically connecting and exchanging information with related parties, providing contextual information to service providers, providing information at point of service and developing tools to help patients take an active role in managing their health. This grant will provide us with hardware and software needed to connect to the Internet and offset Internet service costs for the first year. The Authority will provide support for training, network support, and project coordination.